Carton with capped lid

ABSTRACT

A carton provided with a capped lid formed by folding flaps inwardly to form a lid which fits over and around the top of the carton to enable reclosing after opening. An inner seal may be provided so as to view the contents before opening the carton and means for engaging the recloseable capped lid with the carton may also be provided.

United States Paten Anderssonetal. a

[s41 CARTON wmr CAPVPEDCLID [72] Inventors: Rolf Urban Andersson, Malmo; Lennart Gerhard Person, Lund, both of Sweden 731 Assignee: An Alterlnnd & Rnuslng, Lund, Sweden 221 Filed:' March '10, 1,970

[21] Appl.No.: 18,075

30 Foreign Application Priority Data March-s1, 19159v Sweden.... "4485/69 521 u.s.c ..229/44CB,229/16D 51 mm 229/14 BA, 14 BL, 51 TC, 51 SC, 14D

[ I References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3, 91,55 H s 1 9 3s H Meyers, "2291 5 1 'r v B65d5/66 [58] Fleldolsemh .......229/37,'44 R, 44CB, 48 T,

I l s1; 3,669,344 [4 1 June 13,1972

1,372,218 3/19'21 Davidson.. ..';....229 /44 3,288,345 11/1966 Dilot 3,355,085 11/1967 Lindstrom ...229/48 T X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATION S I 1,1 19,766 7/1968 Great Britain ..229/44 Primary Ekaminer-Evon C. Blunk Assistant Exdminer-l-ladd S. Lane Auomey-Pierce, Schefiler and Parker 57 ABSTRACT A carton provided with a capped lid formed by folding flaps inwardly to' form a lid which fits over and around the top of the carton to enable reclosing after opening. An inner seal may be I provided so as to view the contents before opening the carton and means for engaging-the recloseable capped lid with the carton may also be provided.

CARTON WITH CAPPED LID The present invention relates to a carton comprising a capsule which consists of four side wall portions, a joint portion, a bottom sealing and a lid sealing, at which the lid sealing is adapted to form a capped lid.

The carton according to the invention is characterized in that the lid sealing comprises four lid flaps, the one of which is larger than the mouth of the capsule and provided with side flaps protruding to three sides and in combination with suitable joint flaps forming the capped lid.

Preferably, the carton is provided with a wafer positioned under the lid sealing and secured to the insides of all of the lid flaps and preferably being transparent so as to allow the content to be surveyed without making it necessary to completely break open the carton.

Through the invention a carton is provided which can be erected by means of normal standard machines with only slight modifications of the same. The carton can be readily opened and as readily re-sealed. Nevertheless, the carton may be made very tight. The carton blank has a simple design which can easily be punched from larger sheets.

Further advantages appear from the following specification in which by way of example a pair of different embodiments of the carton are described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the outside of a plane blank according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows the blank according to FIG. 1 after the capsule portion itself has been erected.

FIG. 3 shows the carton after sealing of the capsule mouth by means of a wafer and after forming of the capped lid.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are plane views corresponding to FIG. 1 of two further modified embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a carton made of the blank according to FIG. 5 after the same has been erected, sealed and afterwards opened.

The blank illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises four side walls 1, 2, 3 and 4 and a joint flap 5. Furthermore, the blank comprises five bottom flaps 6, which may have an arbitrary design.

The lid sealing is accomplished by means of a larger lid flap 7 and four smaller flaps 8, 9, and 11. The lid flap 7 is provided with three side flaps 12, 13 and 14 protruding to the sides. The flap 14 by means of a creasing rule is divided into partial sections 14a and 14b. Finally, the side flaps l2 and 13 are provided with extensions 16 and 17 serving as joint flaps.

Before the carton is erected a closed capsule is formed by securing the joint portion 5 to the inside of the wall 1. Being so glued up and folded into a plane condition the capsule blank is delivered to the station for filling of the carton. Here the capsule at first is pressed into an open parallelepipedic shape. Then the bottom sealing is produced, preferably by folding the bottom flaps outwards 90 and providing them with a wafer which covers the lower capsule mouth, and simultaneously the wafer is secured to all the bottom flaps. Then the bottom flaps are folded inwards and anchored by means of a suitable binding agent. At this the capsule preferably at least on its inside is provided with a heat-scalable coating, for instance polyethylene, through which the film sealing of the wafer and also the sealing of the individual flaps may be performed solely by means of heat. The carton is then ready for filling.

As appears from FIG. 3, a wafer 18' after the filling is applied in the same manner as at the bottom sealing. The side flaps 12, 13 and 14 are erected a to form an angle of 90 with the lid flap 7. The joint flaps 16 and 17 are folded inwards 90 after which the lid portion 14b is folded inwards over the joint flaps 16 and 17 and firmly sealed. Now the carton has the shape shown in FIG. 3. Then the lid flaps 8 and 9 and the applied wafer are folded inwards, after which the formed lid portion can be folded downwards. At this the width of the lid flap 10 is so dimensioned in relation to the width of the lid portion 14b that they interlock so that the lid is retained in its shut position.

When the carton should be opened the lid is turned up. If the lid flaps 8 and 9 are separated from the side wall portions 1 and 3 by means of notches l9 and 20, as is shown in FIG. 1, it is then possible in a simple way to, remove as well the wafer 18 as the lid flaps 8 and 9. Then the, carton can easily be reclosed by turning down the lid portion and fastening it to the lid flap 10. This locking operation is facilitated if the creasing rule 21 is reversed to the adjacent creasing rules, i.e. it is provided with a bead on the outside instead of on the inside.

The blank accordingto FIG. 4 is different from the blank according to FIG. 1 only by a different design of the flap 14' and by a locking slot 22'.

The erection and filling of the carton may be performed in the same manner as described in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. The only difference is that 'the lid in its erected position is locked by means of mechanical locking, i.e. after erection of the side flaps 12, 13 and 14 and inwards folding of the extension fiaps l6 and 17' the portion 14b is folded inwards over the flaps 16 and 17 and caused to snap into the locking slot 22'.

At the construction according to FIG. 5 it is intended to 'dispense with the wafer 18. ln other respects the blank presents essential similarities to the blanks according to FIGS. 1 and 4, and therefore the same reference numerals have been used, however with addition of a bis-sign. The difference primarily is in the design of the lid portion. Up to the lid sealing itself the carton is erected in the same manner as described above. After the filling the lid flaps 8", 9" and 10" are folded outwards Then the lid flap 7" is folded inwards at which the side flaps l2", 13 and 14" are firmly sealed to the lid flaps 8", 9 and 10", respectively. Then the formed double flaps are .folded downwards against the sides of the carton. At this the joint flaps 16" and 17 may be folded inwards either before or after the downwards folding or adjacent flaps. Owing to the fact that the blank is provided with outer notches 23" 24 and 25" and inner notches 26", 27" and 28", the carton can be opened in the same manner as the carton according to FIGS. 1 through 3. At this a tearing takes place in the carton material between the inner and outer notches. The best function of this construction will be obtained in using a carton material which is covered with a plastic coating on both sides. I

The invention of course is not limited solely to the illustrated embodiments but may be varied within the frame of the following claims. For instance, the design of the individual flaps may be varied within wide limits. It is also to be observed that the slots between adjacent lid and bottom flaps preferably arenot extended to the capsule itself. By this means an addi-. tional sealing is obtained at the comers which otherwide may be subjected to leakage. I

We claim 1. A carton comprising four side wall portions, a joint portion for sealing said wall portions into a four sided carton, bottom forming flaps adjoining said wall portions and folded together in overlapping relation to form the bottom of the carton, at least four flaps adjoining the top of said wall portions, two opposed flaps of said four flaps extending the full width of the associated wall portions and being. folded inwardly over the top opening of the carton, one intermediate flap being folded outwardly and downwardly adjacent the outside of the top of the carton, the remaining flap constituting a lid flap for forming a recloseable capped lid for said carton, at least three wing flaps, each adjoining one of the three sides of said lid flap and being folded inwardly at right angles to said lid flap and two additional joint flaps adjoining said wing flaps at the outer comers of said lid flap and folded against said outer wing flaps to form the capped lid, the two wing flaps opposed to each other terminating short of the fold line between said lid fiap and the side wall portion contiguous therewith to provide a sealing strip on said lid flap, and a sealing wafer extending across the top opening of the carton in an originally flat condition and secured to the insides of said two opposed flaps, the intermediate flap and said sealing strip of the lidflap.

2. A carton as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sealing wafer is of stretchable material and is stretched taut across the top opening of the carton by folding said intermediate flap outwardly and downwardly when said capped lid closes the top opening of the carton.

3. A carton as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sealing wafer is composed of a transparent material.

4. A carton as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a heat sealable coating on the inner walls of the carton.

5. A carton as claimed in claim 1 wherein said two opposed flaps are provided with mechanically weakened tear lines adjoining the contiguous side walls whereby they are separable therefrom and removable with said sealing wafer secured thereto for access to the carton, said carton being recloseable by said capped lid.

6. A carton comprising four side wall portions, a joint portion for sealing said wall portions into a four sided carton, bottom forming flaps adjoining said wall portions and folded together in overlapping relation to form the bottom of the carton, at least four flaps adjoining the top of said wall portions, two opposed flaps of said four flaps having inner and outer portions and extending the full width of the associated wall portions and being folded outwardly from the top opening of the carton, one intermediate flap having inner and outer portions and being folded outwardly and downwardly adjacent the outside of the top of the carton, the remaining flap opposite said intermediate flap constituting a lid flap for forming a capped lid for said carton, at least three wing flaps, each adjoining one of the three sides of said lid flap and being folded inwardly at right angles to said lid flap and two additional joint flaps adjoining at least one of said wing flaps at the outer cornets of said lid flap and folded against said outer wing flaps to form the capped lid, the outer portions of said two opposed flaps and said intermediate flap being provided with mechanically weakened tear lines between the inner and outer portions of said flaps by which said outer portions are separable from the inner portions thereof which are contiguous with the corresponding wall portions, the outer portions being secured to the three wing flaps adjoining the lid flap so that when the capped lid of the carton is opened the outer portions of said two opposed flaps and said intermediate flap remain with the capped lid after being separated from the inner portions along the tear lines.

7. A carton as claimed in claim 6 wherein the mechanically weakened tear lines of said two opposed and said intermediate flaps are parallel to and spaced from the line where said inner portions of said flaps adjoin said wall portions contiguous therewith.

8. A carton as claimed in claim 6 and further comprising a heat sealable coating on the inner walls of the carton.

an at 

1. A carton comprising four side wall portions, a joint portion for sealing said wall portions into a four sided carton, bottom forming flaps adjoining said wall portions and folded together in overlapping relation to form the bottom of the carton, at least four flaps adjoining the top of said wall portions, two opposed flaps of said four flaps extending the full width of the associated wall portions and being folded inwardly over the top opening of the carton, one intermediate flap being folded outwardly and downwardly adjacent the outside of the top of the carton, the remaining flap constituting a lid flap for forming a recloseable capped lid for said carton, at least three wing flaps, each adjoining one of the three sides of said lid flap and being folded inwardly at right angles to said lid flap and two additional joint flaps adjoining said wing flaps at the outer corners of said lid flap and folded against said outer wing flaps to form the capped lid, the two wing flaps opposed to each other terminating short of the fold line between said lid flap and the side wall portion contiguous therewith to provide a sealing strip on said lid flap, and a sealing wafer extending across the top opening of the carton in an originally flat condition and secured to the insides of said two opposed flaps, the intermediate flap and said sealing strip of the lid flap.
 2. A carton as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sealing wafer is of stretchable material and is stretched taut across the top opening of the carton by folding said intermediate flap outwardly and downwardly when said capped lid closes the top opening of the carton.
 3. A carton as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sealing wafer is composed of a transparent material.
 4. A carton as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising a heat sealable coating on the inner walls of the carton.
 5. A carton as claimed in claim 1 wherein said two opposed flaps are provided with mechanically weakened tear lines adjoining the contiguous side walls whereby they are separable therefrom and removable with said sealing wafer secured thereto for access to the carton, said carton being recloseable by said capped lid.
 6. A carton comprising four side wall portions, a joint portion for sealing said wall portions into a four sided carton, bottom forming flaps adjoining said wall portions and folded together in overlapping relation to form the bottom of the carton, at least four flaps adjoining the top of said wall portions, two opposed flaps of said four flaps having inner and outer portions and extending the full width of the associated wall portions and being folded outwardly from the top opening of the carton, one intermediate flap having inner and outer portions and being folded outwardly and downwardly adjacent the outside of the top of the carton, the remaining flap opposite said intermediate flap constituting a lid flap for forming a capped lid for said carton, at least three wing flaps, each adjoining one of the three sides of said lid flap and being folded inwardly at right angles to said lid flap and two additional joint flaps adjoining at least one of said wing flaps at the outer corners of said lid flap and folded against said outer wing flaps to form the capped lid, the outer portions of said two opposed flaps and said intermediate flap being provided with mechanically weakened tear lines between the inner and outer portions of said flaps by which said outer portions are separable from the inner portions thereof which are contiguous with the corresponding wall portions, the outer portions being secured to the three wing flaps adjoining the lid flap so that when the capped lid of the carton is opened the outer portions of said two opposed flaps and said intermediate flap remain with the capped lid after being separated from the inner portions along the tear linEs.
 7. A carton as claimed in claim 6 wherein the mechanically weakened tear lines of said two opposed and said intermediate flaps are parallel to and spaced from the line where said inner portions of said flaps adjoin said wall portions contiguous therewith.
 8. A carton as claimed in claim 6 and further comprising a heat sealable coating on the inner walls of the carton. 